Travel from Saint Simon to Jarnac

Saint Simon Mooring Wall
///chewy.lifestyle.defeat
45°38’55.2372″N, 0°4’36.5988″W

to

Jarnac Mooring Wall
///grained.defies.cannily
45°40’45.8436″N, 0°10’43.5828″W

Four locks & 11 kilometers travelled.

We woke up this morning to dark clouds & rain. We could see this in the forecast a few days ago & decided we would figure out what to do when the weather arrived.

It rained fairly heavy until about 9:30 & then it let up so we cast off & headed for Jarnac. Our new friends from Germany were departing at the same time.  We followed them towards the lock at Juac, the first of four locks we would pass through today. 

Our journey on the Charente River from Sireuil to Jarnac is downstream so each lock we pass through takes us down approximately 1 to 2 meters. When we return to Sireuil we will be going “up” the river.

The rain started again shortly after we got underway but it wasn’t very hard & didn’t cause any problems with handling or navigating the boat.

However, there was only one windshield wiper on the boat & it didn’t do a very effective job. So, in-between rain showers, one of our crew was “volunteered” to go forward & clean the windows to help the skipper see where we were going. She did an excellent job!

This was the beginning of our 3rd day on the boat. We have been through several locks & have established a bit of a routine when going through the locks.

Our normal lock routine is I drive the boat, Catherine & Valerie take turns staying on board & helping me with the lines & helping David with operating the lock gates & filling & draining the locks.

Opening & closing the lock gates takes a fair bit of physical effort. Each gate has a large wheel that is connected to a gear mechanism that opens or closes the gate – depending upon which way you turn the wheel.

In the photo above you can see David operating the large wheel to open one of the four gates that are in each lock. The smaller wheel in the left of the picture is used to open & close a small door near the bottom of each gate. This door lets water in or out of the lock – depending upon whether you want to fill or empty the lock.

In the photo above you can see Catherine operating the smaller wheel –  the one that opens & closes the door on the lock gate – to fill or drain the lock, depending upon which way you are headed.

All of the locks on the route we are travelling are manually operated so the crew gets a pretty good workout. There’s a bit less work if more than one boat is going through the lock at the same time because the crew from each boat will usually lend a hand.

Back in Canada on the Rideau Canal & on the Trent-Severn Waterway all of the locks are operated by Parks Canada staff. The only thing the boaters have to do is stay on board their own boat & handle the lines to keep their boat steady while the lock is being filled or drained.

This was also our experience on the Canal du Midi last year. All the locks on that system are operated by the canal authority. It’s easy to get spoiled when someone else is doing all that hard work for you.

We arrived in Jarnac around 2:00pm. Thankfully the rain appeared to be finished for the day. It was a bit confusing after leaving the lock.

We were also distracted by the Courvoisier Cognac distillery immediately beside the boating channel (photo above)  – wondering if they were giving away free samples!

The initial channel exiting the lock at Jarnac is very narrow. There are shallow sand bars on port & starboard sides for about 100 meters & the current is fairly strong. We finally managed to find a place to moor for the day about 500 meters from the lock.

It had been a long time since breakfast so Catherine & Valerie fixed a lunch of hot soup & crackers supplemented with some excellent cheese & sausage that we had purchased in Chateauneuf-sur-Charante.

After lunch we all had a brief rest & then went for a walk to explore part of the city.

David & I walked back towards the lock to check out the Courvoisier distillery. They give tours daily so we signed up for a tour tomorrow afternoon.

This should be an interesting tour & it includes tasting of three different types of Cognac. We’re really looking forward to that!

The weather today ended much better than when we started. We were treated to a pink sky – hopefully the sailor’s mantra “red sky at night, sailor’s delight” will hold true.

Photo above – sunset on the Charente River in Jarnac across the bow of our boat.

Cheers!

Ecluse de Mosnac
///consultancy.unplayable.investigate
45°37’36.5484″N, 0°1’21.3204″W

We had a comfortable night just in front of the lock across the river from the village of Mosnac-Saint-Simeux.

We are starting to really notice how early the sun sets and how late it rises the next day.

Photo above – our overnight mooring spot.

Photo above – the weir beside the lock.

Photo above – Catherine & David tend the lock gates.

There are 15 locks on this section of the Charente River. Only one is operated by   the French river authority. The rest all have to be operated by the boaters.

When there are 4 or more people on board the usual routine is for 2 people to stay onshore to operate the locks and 2 stay onboard the boat to maneuver the boat in & out of the lock & & to handle the boat lines while in the lock.

Photo above – Valerie checks our status while managing the forward line.

Travelling on the Charente presents endless opportunities for photos. The riverbanks are heavily treed on both sides in between the villages.

Photo above – passing by Mosnac-Saint-Simeux.

Photo above – the church in Mosnac -Saint-Simeux high on the hill above the Charente. 

Photo above – Valerie & Catherine take a well deserved break on the aft deck while we are travelling in-between the locks.

We arrived at the town of Chateauneuf-sur-Charente around 11:30. This community has a farmer’s market so we thought we would stop for a while & go shopping for some more provisions.

Unfortunately the farmers market was closed but there were a few vendors open in a little mall so we picked up some fruit & vegetables at one, cooked chicken at the meat vendor & cheese at another. They all had a great selection & it was fun trying to explain to them what we wanted to buy.

Photo above – the fruit & vegetable stand owners were very patient with our limited French & they got a kick out of us using Google Translate for more detailed information. Notice the artichoke as big as your head!

Photo above – there were so many different types of cheese that we had a hard time deciding what to buy.

After we finished shopping at the market we stopped at a nearby boulangerie for some pre-made baguette sandwiches & to peruse the baked goods. It was really hard to leave that store!

We made a final stop at a Carrefour market for some less exotic, but still important supplies – including pasta, potato chips, paper towel & bottled water.

Photo above – Valerie perusing the household supply section. A less glamorous but still very important task.

After we got back to the boat we enjoyed our baguettes & then cast off for our next destination.

Saint Simon Mooring Wall
///chewy.lifestyle.defeat
45°38’55.2372″N, 0°4’36.5988″W

Photo above – the village of Saint Simon rises above our mooring wall along the riverbank.

The weather was warming up nicely when we stopped for the day. Another charter boat was approaching the mooring wall so David & I offered to take their lines.

This was a group of 4 seniors from Mainz, Germany. They didn’t speak much English but with lots of pointing & other gestures we managed to communicate the essentials with each other.

After their boat was securely tied up they told us that they were out of water in their tank but their hose was not long enough to reach the municipal water connection on the mooring wall.

I offered to loan them our hose so the 2 could be combined. That worked nicely. They were so happy to have our help that they gave us 2 bottles of their favourite German wine. I told them that was not necessary but very much appreciated.

When I got back to our boat I remembered that we had a small bottle of Crown Royal that I had purchased at the Duty Free in Toronto airport. I gave this (unopened) bottle to our new friends & they were very happy.

Meanwhile, back at the boat, Valerie was helping me expand readership of the blog. She was sharing links to the blog with her family & friends. With any luck I may have almost 25 subscribers by the end of the day!  Way to go Valerie!

We thought we would explore the village before dinner. David & I went in search of a small store to buy some beer but the only vendor in the village was a small pub. We went inside & started to ask the bartender in bad French if we could get a couple of drafts. He responded  “how about we do this in English”? I commented that he had a British accent that & he said that he moved to France from Oxford, England about 30 years ago.

Photo above – Valerie enjoying the hospitality of La P’tite Gabarre.

Photo above – a few more patrons of the pub.

By the time we got back to the boat we were ready for dinner. David volunteered to put the essentials together.

With all hands on deck we were ready to eat in no time flat!

And speaking of decks, after dinner Valerie & David decide to take on the ultimate challenge – to teach Catherine & I how to play euchre.

Valerie & David showed great patience with our inexperience. We had a lot of fun & hopefully by the time we have to return the boat to Sireuil Catherine & I might even understand what we should be doing.

Cheers!

Nicols Boat Charter Sireuil
///stun.healing.lameness
45°36’20.8692″N, 0°1’30.6804″E

Today was the big day.  We picked up our boat from the Nicols Charter company depot in the village of Sireuil on the Charente River.

Our first task for the day before leaving Angouleme was to go to a nearby grocery store and pick up provisions for our journey.

The boat has a well equipped galley so we plan to have a mixture of preparing meals on board & eating at local restaurants & cafes along the way.

After picking up all of the items on our shopping list we hired a taxi for our 25 minute journey from Angouleme to Sireuil.

We started planning this trip many months ago & it was exciting to finally see our boat.

Our boat is a Nicols 1000 Sedan. It’s about 34 feet long with a spacious dining & galley area on the main level & 3 sleeping cabins & 2 bathrooms below deck. It’s pretty compact but comfortable.

The Nicols staff were very efficient at checking us in. They gave us a tour & tutorial of the systems on the boat and then took us & 2 other charter boats to the first lock.

Our route on the Charente River takes us from Sireuil to Saint Savinien, a distance of about 98 kilometers & a total of 15 locks that we have to operate ourselves. We have to return the boat to Sireuil in 7 days so we aren’t sure how far we will get before we have to turn around.

We have decided that we will take our time & stop at interesting places along the way. If we only go 30 or 40 kilometers before we have to turn around that will be fine. The map below shows the first segment of our journey.

It was almost 4:00pm when we left the Nicols depot. We made it through 2 locks & arrived at the 3rd lock at 6:00pm. This looked like a good place to stop & spend the night.

Ecluse de Mosnac (Mosnac Lock – the 3rd lock on our route)
///consultancy.unplayable.investigate
45°37’36.5484″N, 0°1’21.3204″W

Catherine & Valerie prepared a great meal of pasta & salad supported by some excellent local wines.

After dinner David & I cleaned up the dishes while Catherine & Valerie laid out plans for the next day.

Tomorrow we will pass through 3 locks to get to our next destination, the village of ….

Cheers!

Hotel Mercure Angouleme
///prepared.rock.desk
45°38’58.4376″N, 0°9’27.9864″E

After a good rest in our hotel (photo above) we were ready to go out and explore Angouleme. We started our morning by walking across the street to the public market.

The market building was built in 1888. It’s design was inspired by buildings in Paris of the same era. It’s not all that attractive on the outside but the interior is very interesting & it’s easy to imagine what it must have been like when it was first built.

Many of the vendors were still setting up their stalls & the prepared food breakfast choices were limited so we opted to find a nearby cafe instead.

After enjoying our “traditional” coffee, baguette & croissant we went for a brief walk in the neighborhood.

Just up the street from the market is the Hotel de Ville (city hall).

This building is very imposing, as it is located on one of the highest points in the city. The oldest part of it was built at the end of the Roman Empire & various parts of the castle were added to it over the following centuries. The City purchased the castle in 1869 & converted into their main office building.

Some of the streets surrounding the castle spread out like spokes on a wheel  & as you look up each street you can see the castle. It’s a great landmark to help you stay oriented.

Even though it was still pretty early on a Sunday morning there were still a few other tourists exploring the city.

Angouleme is well known for its building murals & we enjoyed several of various sizes.

I liked the restaurant window mural below. We had dinner there this evening.

And also the full wall mural on a building just around the corner from our hotel.

While we were exploring the area we often saw a familiar couple enjoying the same sights.

It’s nice to see that graffiti “artists” are leaving these little masterpieces alone.

We wrapped up the evening by taking a  stroll around the neighborhood and enjoyed a view of the city from the market plaza.

Our ages are starting to show a bit because while we were getting ready to call it a day many of the locals were just coming out for dinner!

Oh well, tomorrow we pick up our boat.

Cheers!

Hotel Regyn’s
Pl. des Abbesses, 75018 Paris
///shapes.guess.monk
48°53’4.7832″N, 2°20’17.0520″E

We were up a bit earlier this morning & off to a local cafe for a light breakfast before taking the subway to the Montparnasse train station for our trip to Angouleme.

About the only thing we didn’t ride the last few days was the carousel beside our hotel. Perhaps the next time we come to Paris….

We arrived at the train station well in advance of the scheduled departure time.

Montparnasse Train Station
///serious.homing.dining
48°50’27.1176″N, 2°19’11.8452″E

This place is like an airport with many trains per day going in a variety of directions, lots of people & an amazing amount of amenities for travellers. This is the 4th busiest train station in France & reportedly handles about 56 million passengers a year!

We boarded our train at 12:00 noon for a 12:40 departure time.

There was a pretty big crowd boarding it but the process was quick and not much stress.

The train left the station right on time & before long we were speeding through the countryside. Occasionally we got a glimpse of cars travelling on a nearby freeway & the train zipped past them like they were parked!

I got out my phone & turned on my GPS car navigation system. Once it got connected to some satellites it started giving me all kinds of warning signals. They were so loud I had to turn the sound off on the phone because other passengers were starting to stare!

Apparently my GPS was VERY concerned that I was doing 296 kilometers per hour in an 80 km/h speed zone!

The train was so quiet & smooth that you would never think we were going that fast. I also suspect that the train may have exceeded 300 km/h at times because there were times when we could feel it accelerating even more. 

We arrived in Angouleme around 2:30. It is famous for its cartoon artists & for many murals on buildings throughout the city. The fellow in the picture below was installed on the roof of the train station. He kind of reminds me of the Fonze from Happy Days.

Google maps informed us that our hotel was only about 750 meters from the train station so we decided to walk there. Unfortunately Google forgot to tell us that the entire walk was uphill!

We eventually made it to the Hotel Mercure & were very pleasantly surprised at how nice it is. Our rooms are more than double the size of the rooms we had in Paris & everything is chic & modern inside a very old looking building on the outside.

Tomorrow we will explore Angouleme & also start gathering some provisions for our week on the boat.

Cheers!